With some breeds we have gone too far in how we have bred them, these animals suffer from the characteristics we select for and often live less long. The short-snouted breeds are a good example of this, because of their short muzzle breathing is more difficult, often they also have a palate that is too long, narrow nostrils and an abnormal trachea. At rest, breathing can often be heard, if these dogs exert themselves or are hot and have to pant, things can really go wrong with…

With some breeds we have gone too far in how we have bred them, these animals suffer from the characteristics we select for and often live less long.

The short-snouted breeds are a good example of this, because of their short muzzle breathing is more difficult, often they also have a palate that is too long, narrow nostrils and an abnormal trachea. At rest, breathing can often be heard, if these dogs exert themselves or are hot and have to pant, things can really go wrong, resulting in death from suffocation, dehydration or overheating.

For this reason, almost no airlines transport these short-muzzled dogs in the hold anymore, there have been too many deaths. Unfortunately, we also see many problems with the extremely large and extremely small dog breeds and types.

What is a healthy dog

But especially with a view to animal welfare and that your dog can live a happy and long life, it is wise to choose a healthy dog. So what is a healthy dog?

On pedigree dog guide you can see per breed which problems are common in a certain breed. As a rule, dogs that do not have extreme body shapes, coat, skin folds or short limbs have fewer problems and small dogs (<15 kg) live longer and grow old with fewer osteoarthritis complaints. Of course you also have to be lucky with your dog, but there are certain breeds
where you are already 3-0 behind when you buy it and can almost certainly expect problems with it. It is not the case that these problems do not occur at crossbreeds, but the chance of them is much smaller. Insurers are good objective advisors in that respect, if an insurer does not want to insure something, the chance of problems will be too great.

Immerse yourself before purchasing

Familiarize yourself with the type of dog you want to purchase, if you are charmed by a certain breed, make sure you buy a dog from a good breeder where the parents have been tested and found negative for the problems with their breed. Or look in the shelter or via, for example, Verhuisdieren.nl for a nice crossbreed or a dog that needs to be rehomed.

In the summer period we see many problems in dogs (and sometimes also in cats and rabbits) with grass spikes. Grass spikes are seeds of grasses with a sharp point on one side and a kind of hairs in the other direction. These come loose from the grass plant in the summer period and can end up in your dog’s fur or even in the ear. Especially with the curly coat, the double and the long coat types, these grass spikes easily get stuck in the coat. Because they have one sharp point and…

In the summer period we see many problems in dogs (and sometimes also in cats and rabbits) with grass spikes. Grass spikes are seeds of grasses with a sharp point on one side and a kind of hairs in the other direction. These come loose from the grass plant in the summer period and can end up in your dog’s fur or even in the ear.

Especially with the curly coat, the double and the long coat types, these grass spikes easily get stuck in the coat. Because they have one sharp point and “hairs” pointing the other way, they can only move in one direction. The sharp point can go through the skin and can even be pushed through the eardrum if one is in the ear. This causes a lot of pain and nasty infections and inflammations.

These grass spikes can also go through the skin between the cloves and sometimes these spikes “walk” under the skin. These then come out higher up the leg and cause a lot of inflammation, infections, lameness and pain along the way.

Check your dog for grass spikes

So check your dog carefully after a walk and remove grass spikes from the coat, near the ears and between the toes. You can possibly. Also shave off the fur on the lower foot to have a good view of it and to make it much less likely that grass spikes will get stuck in it. Unfortunately, we have seen more problems in recent years with animals with grass spikes because we mow the grasses on the verge less often to provide insects with a habitat. Of course this is also very important, but it does require dog owners to check better for grass ears.

If your dog suddenly starts limping, has an ear problem or is painful in one place on the skin and licks a lot there, for example, check that there is no grass ear involved and if in doubt, have your dog checked by your vet.